Getting ready to board my flight to Philadelphia. As far as I know, my last patient is still pregnant. Selfishly, I hope she delivers a few days late so I can be there, buit babies will what they will, and I know full well I can't tell them what to do.Much love to my watchdogs whwo commented me back into line, and to you who were wondering after the last post...the only "convenience induction" I've ever done was for a G3 on her due date. There were some complex social circumstances surrounding the date itself, but not something worth endangering bay for. What tipped the scale was her history. Baby 1 was 8-6. Baby 2 was 9-8. Baby 3 was a solid few centimeters over dates and mom had a 4 cm and 80% dilation head start on labor, so we hesitantly decided it was probably best to go ahead.I broke her water. She labored for hours while the nurses flipped her from side to side and rolled her every which way. Baby took his time, but when he decided to deliver it got exciting fast. Ten and a half pounds of baby almost got stuck, and we were doing all the secret shoulder dystocia moves. Mom and baby came out fine, but it was a harrowing moment.I was glad, after the fact, that we hadn't waited, but that special set of circumstances is rare, and we could have wound up with a c-section if I'd been the impatient type.

In general, O Best Beloved, babies know what they're doing. Our best medicine is to let them do it.

See you in Philadelphia, where I'll be spending the week at the Family-Centered Maternity Care Conference. Tomorrow is the ALSO instructor course. Wish me luck!

I'm almost two years out from medical school, here in Indiana where I was born and grew up. I used to write poetry - still do, sometimes - but now I've taken to spilling my heart out in prose. I'm balancing family, expecting a new baby, and working as a second-year family medicine resident. I'd like to take you along for the ride.

My updates are erratic, dependent on my mood, my current work schedule, and my ability to motivate myself. You are warned.

Expect a narrative of my days on shift. Anticipate good experiences and bad. Almost everything I write, personal or not, is a public entry, so be prepared for things that you don't quite understand.

There is a list of those who really do want to know more about me than the general public desires to see. Flip down to "spin a web" and click the link there to get in on that list.